GOAT Rank · 56

Greatest Athletes from Japan

This ranking is led by Homare Sawa, Naoko Fujioka and Kosuke Kitajima. GOAT Rank currently ranks 56 eligible athletes from Japan using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, Homare Sawa ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 85.9.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

317

Homare Sawa

85.9

Sport: Football
Career: 1991–2015
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 83.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Homare Sawa

594

Naoko Fujioka

84.1

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2009–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Naoko Fujioka

801

Kosuke Kitajima

82.9

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1999–2016
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Kosuke Kitajima

822

Naoya Inoue

82.8

Sport: Boxing
Career: 2012–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 90.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Naoya Inoue

890

Fighting Harada

82.5

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1960–1970
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Fighting Harada

908

Yoko Gushiken

82.4

Sport: Boxing
Career: 1974–1981
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Yoko Gushiken

1343

Daiya Seto

80.2

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2012–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Daiya Seto

1393

Mizuki Noguchi

79.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1999–2012
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Mizuki Noguchi

1412

Kosuke Hagino

79.8

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2012–2021
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Kosuke Hagino

1448

Sadaharu Oh

79.6

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1959–1980
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 92.0
Statistics: 96.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Sadaharu Oh

1726

Yui Ohashi

78.3

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2014–2024
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Yui Ohashi

2133

Ryosuke Irie

76.6

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2008–2021
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Ryosuke Irie

2163

Hidetoshi Nakata

76.5

Sport: Football
Career: 1995–2006
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 74.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Hidetoshi Nakata

2186

Ippei Watanabe

76.4

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2014–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Ippei Watanabe

2213

Mayumi Aoki

76.3

Sport: Swimming
Career: 1969–1976
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Mayumi Aoki

2305

Ichiro Suzuki

75.9

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1992–2019
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Ichiro Suzuki

2326

Naoko Takahashi

75.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1997–2008
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Naoko Takahashi

2377

Hideki Matsui

75.7

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1993–2012
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Hideki Matsui

2457

Yu Darvish

75.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2005–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Yu Darvish

2460

Masahiro Tanaka

75.3

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Masahiro Tanaka

2597

Rikako Ikee

74.7

Sport: Swimming
Career: 2014–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Rikako Ikee

2741

Kei Nishikori

73.9

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Kei Nishikori

2846

Tomoe Abe

73.3

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1992–2001
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Tomoe Abe

2917

Katsutoshi Nekoda

72.9

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 1964–1977
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Katsutoshi Nekoda

2926

Hideo Nomo

72.8

Sport: Baseball
Career: 1990–2008
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Hideo Nomo

3029

Shohei Ohtani

72.0

Sport: Baseball
Career: 2018–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Shohei Ohtani

3056

Masashi Ozaki

71.8

Sport: Golf
Career: 1970–2019
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Masashi Ozaki

3059

Hirooki Arai

71.8

Sport: Athletics
Career: 2010–2021
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 82.0
Dominance: 68.0
Statistics: 76.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Hirooki Arai

3068

Jumbo Ozaki

71.7

Sport: Golf
Career: 1970–2010
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 94.0

Athlete: Jumbo Ozaki

3109

Hideki Matsuyama

71.3

Sport: Golf
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Hideki Matsuyama

3121

Naomi Osaka

71.1

Sport: Tennis
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 74.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 66.0

Athlete: Naomi Osaka

3133

Junko Asari

70.9

Sport: Athletics
Career: 1990–1998
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 76.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 64.0

Athlete: Junko Asari

3153

Yutaka Demachi

70.8

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 1968–1976
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Yutaka Demachi

3240

Erika Araki

69.8

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2002–2021
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Erika Araki

3295

Takako Shirai

69.2

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 1970–1977
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Takako Shirai

3314

Ayako Okamoto

68.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1975–2011
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ayako Okamoto

3320

Yukiko Ebata

68.8

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2008–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Yukiko Ebata

3350

Yuko Arakida

68.5

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 1972–1978
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Yuko Arakida

3380

Shigeki Maruyama

68.1

Sport: Golf
Career: 1992–2015
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Shigeki Maruyama

3433

Saori Kimura

67.5

Sport: Volleyball
Career: 2003–2016
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Saori Kimura

3481

Isao Aoki

66.9

Sport: Golf
Career: 1964–2015
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 74.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Isao Aoki

3554

Jun Mizutani

66.2

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 2003–2021
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Jun Mizutani

3681

Ai Fukuhara

64.8

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 1998–2018
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Ai Fukuhara

3701

Fujie Eguchi

64.6

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 1954–1959
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Fujie Eguchi

3731

Kasumi Ishikawa

64.4

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 2008–2023
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Kasumi Ishikawa

3774

Nobuhiko Hasegawa

64.0

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 1963–1973
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Nobuhiko Hasegawa

3814

Miu Hirano

63.5

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Miu Hirano

3815

Ryo Ishikawa

63.5

Sport: Golf
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 70.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 70.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Ryo Ishikawa

3896

Hina Hayata

62.6

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 2016–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Hina Hayata

4005

Koki Niwa

61.2

Sport: Table Tennis
Career: 2010–active
Country: 🇯🇵 Japan

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 72.0
Statistics: 78.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Koki Niwa

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
317	Homare Sawa	Football	🇯🇵 Japan	1991–2015	85.9
594	Naoko Fujioka	Boxing	🇯🇵 Japan	2009–active	84.1
801	Kosuke Kitajima	Swimming	🇯🇵 Japan	1999–2016	82.9
822	Naoya Inoue	Boxing	🇯🇵 Japan	2012–active	82.8
890	Fighting Harada	Boxing	🇯🇵 Japan	1960–1970	82.5
908	Yoko Gushiken	Boxing	🇯🇵 Japan	1974–1981	82.4
1343	Daiya Seto	Swimming	🇯🇵 Japan	2012–active	80.2
1393	Mizuki Noguchi	Athletics	🇯🇵 Japan	1999–2012	79.9
1412	Kosuke Hagino	Swimming	🇯🇵 Japan	2012–2021	79.8
1448	Sadaharu Oh	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	1959–1980	79.6
1726	Yui Ohashi	Swimming	🇯🇵 Japan	2014–2024	78.3
2133	Ryosuke Irie	Swimming	🇯🇵 Japan	2008–2021	76.6
2163	Hidetoshi Nakata	Football	🇯🇵 Japan	1995–2006	76.5
2186	Ippei Watanabe	Swimming	🇯🇵 Japan	2014–active	76.4
2213	Mayumi Aoki	Swimming	🇯🇵 Japan	1969–1976	76.3
2305	Ichiro Suzuki	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	1992–2019	75.9
2326	Naoko Takahashi	Athletics	🇯🇵 Japan	1997–2008	75.9
2377	Hideki Matsui	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	1993–2012	75.7
2457	Yu Darvish	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	2005–active	75.3
2460	Masahiro Tanaka	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	2007–active	75.3
2597	Rikako Ikee	Swimming	🇯🇵 Japan	2014–active	74.7
2741	Kei Nishikori	Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	2007–active	73.9
2846	Tomoe Abe	Athletics	🇯🇵 Japan	1992–2001	73.3
2917	Katsutoshi Nekoda	Volleyball	🇯🇵 Japan	1964–1977	72.9
2926	Hideo Nomo	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	1990–2008	72.8
3029	Shohei Ohtani	Baseball	🇯🇵 Japan	2018–active	72.0
3056	Masashi Ozaki	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1970–2019	71.8
3059	Hirooki Arai	Athletics	🇯🇵 Japan	2010–2021	71.8
3068	Jumbo Ozaki	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1970–2010	71.7
3109	Hideki Matsuyama	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	2013–active	71.3
3121	Naomi Osaka	Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	2013–active	71.1
3133	Junko Asari	Athletics	🇯🇵 Japan	1990–1998	70.9
3153	Yutaka Demachi	Volleyball	🇯🇵 Japan	1968–1976	70.8
3240	Erika Araki	Volleyball	🇯🇵 Japan	2002–2021	69.8
3295	Takako Shirai	Volleyball	🇯🇵 Japan	1970–1977	69.2
3314	Ayako Okamoto	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1975–2011	68.9
3320	Yukiko Ebata	Volleyball	🇯🇵 Japan	2008–active	68.8
3350	Yuko Arakida	Volleyball	🇯🇵 Japan	1972–1978	68.5
3380	Shigeki Maruyama	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1992–2015	68.1
3433	Saori Kimura	Volleyball	🇯🇵 Japan	2003–2016	67.5
3481	Isao Aoki	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	1964–2015	66.9
3554	Jun Mizutani	Table Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	2003–2021	66.2
3681	Ai Fukuhara	Table Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	1998–2018	64.8
3701	Fujie Eguchi	Table Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	1954–1959	64.6
3731	Kasumi Ishikawa	Table Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	2008–2023	64.4
3774	Nobuhiko Hasegawa	Table Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	1963–1973	64.0
3814	Miu Hirano	Table Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	2013–active	63.5
3815	Ryo Ishikawa	Golf	🇯🇵 Japan	2007–active	63.5
3896	Hina Hayata	Table Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	2016–active	62.6
4005	Koki Niwa	Table Tennis	🇯🇵 Japan	2010–active	61.2

Compare the leaders

Homare Sawa vs Naoko Fujioka

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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